Because the light of the set sun is refracted around the surface of Daedalus, Diana, travelling on a riverboat, sees the Highroad River and its valley not disappearing over a horizon but receding to infinity.
This reminds us of a conspiracy theory here on Earth. A certain Atlantic island is concealed from observers on the shore of the North American continent by the curvature of the Earth. However, it is recorded that the island has sometimes been seen - because of refraction.
Conspiracy theory:
this island is visible from North America;
therefore, Earth is flat;
therefore, the entire scientific community is engaged in a conspiracy to convince everyone else that Earth is a globe.
People argue logically from premises. The most pernicious are those who conclude that it follows - from their premises - that anyone who holds an honest but nevertheless mistaken interpretation of Christianity is damned. I am hopeful that future resolutions of social alienations will reduce the number of people whose psychologies work like that - but who knows?
You can tell that it is getting late here, can't you?
2 comments:
In "Mission of Gravity" the atmosphere of Mesklin rapidly thins due to the high gravity, especially near the poles, resulting in light being refracted back down so distant ground appears elevated. So the native's maps show Mesklin as a bowl. Convincing the natives of the actual situation takes some time.
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